I remember going on a trip to New Delhi and Agra with my parents. My mom wasn’t keeping that well. Her legs gave her an unfair amount of grief. Yet, she was very enthusiastic about visiting the places. Somewhere along the way, my dad got me a Calvin and Hobbes book. My guess is before boarding the flight to New Delhi.
I vaguely remember not being able to make any sense of the twisted logic ingrained in the strips. I still persisted. Maybe because my brother and I are suckers for that kind of humour. The creator obviously saw more through the eyes of Calvin than anyone else. I think a lot of people looking back at their own tryst with the education system, empathise with Calvin. Surely, his learning ability at school (or lack of it) is largely exaggerated.
My favourite, though, is Hobbes. There is the right amount of sarcasm, mischief and fuzziness to have him as the best friend. Though only imaginary, he seems more real to me than a few of the characters that come and go in the strips. There is some amount of innocence in there as well. Unlike Tom and Jerry, where one character gets an upper hand most of the time, I think the pranks are well split up.
There is another habit I have developed. Whenever Calvin is another being (mainly Spaceman Spiff), I have a tendency to look toward the end of the strip to see how it ends! More on Calvin and Hobbes will definitely follow. But for now, I am content uploading Hobbes as my avatar.
